Bonnington expected Antonelli’s rise to F1 summit to take years

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The Mercedes race engineer saw promise during early testing but expected Antonelli to need years of work. The Italian became Formula 1’s youngest champion in his second campaign.

From the GPBeat newsroomPublished · 03 Nov 2026, 08:46 · 1 min

Kimi Antonelli sealed the Formula 1 drivers’ title with third place at the Mexico City Grand Prix, becoming the sport’s youngest champion in his second campaign. His race engineer, Peter Bonnington, had expected the Italian’s rise to take years.

During testing of previous cars, Bonnington saw a “diamond in the rough” but said Antonelli still needed a great deal of work. “I thought it was going to take us a few years,” he told Sky Sports F1.

Antonelli skipped Formula 3 and reached F1 after one season in Formula 2. Bonnington said proving himself in an F2 car was not enough to show whether he could make the next step; he needed to experience F1’s downforce.

As the season reached Europe, Bonnington said he began to think a title might be possible. He wanted to keep the possibility quiet and carry on with the work.

Sources 01